At the Lost Abbey, we pride ourselves on producing beers of the highest quality and distinction. Avant Garde is our commitment to brewing beers to no particular style. Some might want to label this as a beer brewed in the Biere de Garde tradition of Northern France. We would prefer to say it was brewed in the Avant Garde style of beers that will reward all those who seek the not so ordinary. Deep gold in color with hints of biscuits, caramel and fresh baked bread, this beer is sure to delight the senses and palates of consumers everywhere.

Reviews by Neffbeer:

A: It pours a hazy golden amber with some light orange hues. There is a fluffy two finger white head that recedes into clumpy clouds of foam and sticky lacing.

S: Surprisingly I am greeted by a pleasant waft of noble hops, herbal and enticingly floral. For six months in the bottle this beer has obviously held up extremely well. The hops fade a bit after it warms and some ripe fruit starts to surface; apples and pears are the main components. There is a hint of honey and vanilla as the beer continues to warm.

T: The hops have held up magnificently displaying a pleasing herbal, floral bite that borders on bitter. Fruit takes over mid-palate with notes of apple peels, over-ripe pears, and white grapes. The yeast is really doughy and spicy, I can only imagine how well this would go with a holiday meal. It finishes dry and slightly herbal/bitter.

M: Light and airy, the carbonations lends itself well to highlighting the subtlety of this brew.

O: I am surprised and impressed by this beer given some of the lack luster reviews I have read. It is a really solid Biere de Garde that I would seek out again.

More User Reviews:

My first Lost Abbey beer to try.Pours into my Hennepin glass a slight hazed peach color with a great looking thick one finger off white head that leaves a nice full ring of broken lace as it settles ever so slowly.I pick up vanilla with a peaches cream-like note,some mildy nutty pilsner malt as well.Flavors of nutty pilsner malts,vanilla,and a light tart green apple in the finish.A great food beer with alot of richness and subtle flavors.

Honey, honey, and more honey. I couldn't get over the floral honey stench that poured out of this glass. It was the flower, the honey, and the bee all in one, so to speak. The bee is the sting in the spice, which came with the nose and lingered on the tongue. Anyway, this beer poured a beautiful color out of the corked and caged Lost Abbey bottle which is adorned with some of the most ridiculous copy I've ever seen on a beer bottle -- but I loved it. This was a surprisingly complex and easy to drink Bière de Garde at 7% ABV and it really had everything you could ask for in an American version of a Belgian beer, a theme which dominated the tasting this bottle was a part of. Brews like this really get me going, when they which pour beautifully, feel great in the mouth, and have something expressive and interesting to say about a specific well-treaded style. Lost Abbey is a hell of a brewery.

A: A pale gold with good clarity and a persistent off-white head comprised of rocky and thick creamy bubble that leaves lacing on the glass.

S: The aroma is spicy, hoppy and fruity. There is a moderate pepper phenol and apricot ester with moderate spicy hops. There is a malt sweetness and a very slight perfume alcohol. Some light orange peel in there as well.

T: Moderate hops bitterness with a bunch of spicy that seems to be from both the yeast and the hops flavor so it's peppery and noble hop-like. There is some malt sweetness which does linger into the aftertaste. The finish is fairly dry. The balance seems to be modestly bitter.

M: The body is medium-light with high carbonation. There is a little bit of that astringency common to the Biere de Garde style.

O: A very drinkable example of this style and I will search long and wide for the sour version because layering some sour notes one will make a fantastic beer.

I've been hanging onto this a little bit now and figured it's time to pop the cork. Pours into my glass a hazy amber/orange with a small fizzy white head that forms a ring around the top. Aromas begin with some toasted grains and caramel. A light fruity spiciness is there as well. Earthy yeast with a slight twang, baked bread with some herbal hops. This just doesn't grab me.

First sip brings a toasted grain malt upfront with a nice hit of caramel. Fruity spiciness is evident and I pick up a grape skin and green apple flavor. Flows down with a bready, yeasty aspect and some earthy tones as well. Just a slight sour twang to it. Finishes with a touch of hops. A bit dry and grainy.

Mouthfeel is on the lighter side while still having a nice creaminess to it. Ample carbonation, the beer goes down easily and is refreshing. Overall, this just doesn't match up with some of the better Biere de Garde's I've sampled. Doubt I'd seek this brew out again, but I look forward to sampling some of the other Lost Abbey brews.

Belgian bomber, caged and corked, no fresness info. Pours apricot, cloudy, gauzy eggshell head, leaving thick film, tiny bubble sheen and plenty of ringed and delicate lacing. The nose I pick up is minty, yeasty and fruity. Light peppery notes, yeasty goodness, nutty, caramel, complex, tasty, heady, another high class, BA worthy brew from Lost Abbey. The only problem I have with this brewery is that they do not distribute to NY state...

Pours a nice blonde yellow, much like many of the acclaimed belgian strong pale ales with its glow and virgin white head. Aroma was more bready than pale, but the pungent belgian yeast esters were here. Lemons and spice in a restrained amount.

one of the light and bready beers, thats impressive when you can pull it off, but not necessarily going to bbe something I'm all about as a recurring customer. I'm not a biere de garde guy, but as far as they go, this one is decent enough. There's a fine hop quality, very small, built with a belgian yeast, light body but bready quality that is probably a relatively difficult beer to pull off.

A- Poured into an oversized wine glass, thin head, slippery lacing, if any at all. Deep straw-orange peel in color, it looks very beautiful in ambient lighting.

S- My second ale of the night that unfortunately had a very light scent to it. Bread, apples, a touch of malt and a tickly tease of banana hidden deep between the aroma of all the above.

T- Not quite a 5.0 but damn close! I am a big fan of cheese, bread and delicate meats... This is DEFINITELY an ale to take to the beach or to the park for a picnic, pop out some prosciutto, sharp nutty cheese, apples/melon, a fresh baguette and sip away!YUM!!!! ~A sweet, slight country/homey taste, subtle and I mean subtle sweet malt, there is a hint of apple and yeasty bread in it. Good balance, deep and scrumptious! The finish sticks around for a couple of seconds and leaves you waiting for more.

MF- Light-medium gritty stickiness to the palate, carbonation is very light too, and tickles the tongue quickly on the finish.

O- This can quickly become your "Sunday Evening Ale." It is an impressive ale, though, if the aroma was much more deeper than I expected it to be, this could definitely entice me A LOT more to make it into my weekly rounds. Price shouldn't be an issue with this one, if you see it, try it. It is by far, not disappointing, but also not a must in my book. ~bottoms up! :)